The British are among the world's idlest workers, according to five up-and-coming Tory MPs.

The MPs – Kwasi Kwarteng, Priti Patel, Dominic Raab, Chris Skidmore and Elizabeth Truss, all from the 2010 intake of new MPs – want British people to work harder and relax less.

"The state has made Britons idle," they argue. "Our culture of instant gratification ignores the years of persistence that lie behind real success. Too many people in Britain prefer a lie-in to hard work."

The MPs claim: "We work among the lowest hours, we retire early and our productivity is poor. Where Indian children aspire to be doctors or businessmen, the British are more interested in football and pop music."